1A championship: Mooseheart overpowers Heyworth, 63-47

Mooseheart (29-3) built an early lead and withstood a Heyworth rally led by reserves for a 63-47 victory at Carver Arena.

Six-foot-7 guard Mangisto Deng, one of four Mooseheart starters listed at 6-4 or above, scored 14 of his game-high 27 in the opening quarter as the Red Ramblers jumped to 21-7 lead.

Heyworth (26-8), which got 28 points from its bench, rallied behind its reserves to take a 34-33 lead in the third quarter before Deng and the Mooseheart frontcourt took over and eventually delivered a 15-point run.

A Kaleb Marr 3-pointer gave Heyworth that lead. Mooseheart coach Ron Ahrens then took a timeout that he turned over to the team.

“Because they are such good leaders, sometimes I don’t have to say anything,” Ahrens said. “During the timeout, they said to each other, ‘We’re not going to lose this game.’”

Heyworth was still down only one with 3:04 left when Mooseheart made its key run, securing the school’s first state title in any sport.

“It takes a lot out of you to come back like that,” Heyworth coach Tom Eller said. “We changed the game plan and decided we needed to get aggressive and try to go right at them. Between doing that on a college court and guys not used to playing as much as they did, it took a lot out of them. But I’m very proud. They could have given up. But this is the way they were all season, they never gave up.”

Mooseheart finished with only three losses to Peoria-area teams Canton, Manual and Notre Dame. Heyworth was the Heart of Illinois Conference co-champion with Tremont. The Hornets earned their first state trophy in basketball and the school’s second overall to go with a volleyball title from 2011.

Deng stepped out from behind a screen, took a shovel pass and missed an open jump shot as the first quarter came to an end.

That was about the only thing that went wrong for Mooseheart in the opening quarter as Deng had 14 points and the Ramblers took a 19-2 lead on the way to outscoring Heyworth 21-7 in the first eight minutes.

Heyworth hoped a pack zone would at least somewhat diminish a huge Mooseheart height advantage, but Deng made two quick 3-point baskets as he got open looks against the zone.

“It was very important to hit those shots,” Deng said. “Their coach (then) told them they had to watch for that and that made them play a little looser. I was able to drive after that and get inside. I’m going to do what I can do against the defense. It’s hard to explain how I feel right now. I’m not going to sleep, that’s how I’m feeling.”

Deng kept scoring from the outside and in transition during a 19-point first half.

It wasn’t until a 3-point basket by Adam Wickenhauser with 3:04 left in the second quarter that Heyworth had more points than Deng (17-16). That basket cut the Hornets deficit to 24-17.

Wickenhauser, who didn’t play in the semifinal game Friday, got hot to lead the bench charge and rally.

Reserves kept Heyworth in the game as the Hornets bench outscored Mooeseheart’s 20-0 in the first half and 28-2 for the game. Wickenhauser had three 3s to lead a rally that cut the deficit to 33-27 at halftime.

“I’m sure our fans got scared,” Ahrens said. “We just started turning the ball over a little bit and they hit a couple 3s, but we didn’t panic.”

Wickenhauser started the second half, and a pair of threes helped Heyworth complete the rally as the Hornets went up 34-33 with 5:29 left.

“I’m glad we stepped up and were able to help,” said Wickenhauser, who led Heyworth with 13 points. “I wish we would have won first place, but it was nice getting time and helping the team.”

A physical game had both starting point guards leave bloodied on different collisions. Mooseheart sophomore Freddy Okito lost a battle with a media table and left with a bloody nose and required a concussion test before he was allowed to return.

“When Freddy went out, we were down a little bit,” Deng said. “We said to each other, this is our day, we’re not going to lose.”

Said Eller: “If you would have come to me at the beginning of the season and said we’d finish second in the state. I would have been thrilled and still am.”